The Delhi Congress Friday accused the AAP of being the “B-team” of the BJP as it has nominated N D Gupta — a “close friend of a senior BJP leader” — to the Rajya Sabha. “AAP has named chartered accountant and GST supporter N D Gupta, who is a close friend” of senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken alleged. N D Gupta did not respond to calls and messages seeking a comment.

Maken said N D Gupta’s proximity to the BJP was evident when a meeting of chartered accountants, organised by his son at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on July 2016, saw the Union Minister being invited as a guest. He added that the Centre had appointed N D Gupta as chairman of the National Pension System on September 18, 2015.

BJP’s Vijender Gupta had, on the day the nominations were announced, said that the AAP had “nominated two big businessmen to the Rajya Sabha”.

Attacking AAP’s other nominee, Sushil Gupta, Maken said that he is not a mass leader. Maken claimed Sushil Gupta met him on November 28 to submit his resignation from the Congress party to say that

AAP has promised him a Rajya Sabha seat.

“Though I had my doubts, Sushil Gupta said everything has been fixed… Kejriwal had promised that his party will have transparency, internal democracy and no corruption, but all these ideals are not seen in their party now,” Maken alleged.

Maken said that while Sushil Gupta was in the Congress, he had participated in many dharnas and demonstrations against the AAP government in Delhi.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari also hit out at the AAP, over Sushil Gupta’s nomination, saying, “The nomination of an administrator of private hospital exposes the claims of AAP government of strengthening government hospitals. We do not object to a hospital administrator being appointed. What concerns us is that the government is failing its own hospitals while talking of giving free treatment in private hospitals.”